Falling Flat
by quizasvivamos
Summary: Part of the "With A Cherry On Top" series: Blaine is inconvenienced by car troubles in a very convenient location.


This one shot is based on the following prompt...

_**SofiaMichelle (AO3) prompted:** Blaine accidentally meeting Burt without knowing he is Kurt's dad!_

*I struggled a bit with this one, but I hope you guys still like it for what it is. It was kinda difficult to think up a scenario where Blaine knew nothing about Burt - especially since he's so bold in canon when he talks to him.

* * *

Blaine fiddled with the radio dial on his dash, glancing up to make sure the light hadn't changed yet. Having settled on a station just in time for red to turn to green, Blaine took his foot off the brake and continued on his way to work. Memories of his Wednesday with Kurt had dominated his thoughts the past few days, and the text messages they'd been exchanging since held so much promise of another date and possibly something more.

He was about five miles from work when he noticed a warning light on his dash, the tire pressure sensor, which meant one of two things: he needed air, or he had a flat. Blaine was hoping it was the former, and he pulled over as soon as it was safe just to be sure. He walked around the car and then came to a halt when he saw the sagging front tire on the passenger side. Great, he thought. This was an unexpected and completely inconvenient complication he wished he didn't have to deal with.

After calling in to work to inform them of his car troubles, Blaine surveyed his current surroundings: a McDonald's, a church, and a tire shop. A tire shop? He laughed to himself, wondering what the chances were of having tire troubles right down the road from a tire shop. He decided that questioning his luck was pointless. Blaine climbed back into his car, knowing that he had no choice and driving the short distance was unlikely to do any further harm.

The buzzer went off as Blaine entered the shop, and he was greeted at the counter by a genial-looking man donning a baseball cap and the uniform of the garage.

"What brings you in today?" he asked, laying his palms firmly on the counter and leaning forward a bit. Blaine glanced at the name tag on the left breast of his blue coveralls, the name 'Burt' stitched neatly across it, and then looked back up into the man's grayish-green eyes.

"I got a flat on my way to work, and tires seem to be your expertise," Blaine joked, laughing uneasily. He wasn't sure if the guy had a sense of humor, and he realized he was making a fool of himself to a man who was probably already judging him from the gel in his hair to the shoes on his feet. The bowtie and short-sleeved white dress shirt of his Mister Softee uniform probably didn't help his case any.

Burt nodded. "What clued you in?" he joked back, and Blaine relaxed. "Lemme have a quick look at it. If it's not too serious, I should be able to fix it up in a jiffy."

Blaine led Burt out into the lot and watched the mechanic bend down to examine the damage.

He cleared his throat. "Bad news is, you got a nail in your tire. Good news is, I can patch it up easily. I would recommend a tire rotation and an alignment check after, just to keep things in order."

"Alright…and you said it'll be quick? I think my boss is still expecting me in for my shift," Blaine said.

"Yeah, I'd say two hours max, so long as I have one of my guys free," Burt informed him.

"I can wait," Blaine said.

"Let's get your information and all," Burt said, and they made their way back into the shop. The mechanic grabbed a clipboard and a pen and handed the form over for Blaine to fill out. It only took a minute or two, and when he handed it back, he watched Burt's eyes quickly scan through the document before they flicked back up to the top. He paused for a long moment and then peered back up at Blaine, a funny expression on his face.

"Blaine Anderson," he read aloud. "Blaine?"

"Yes…?" Was there a problem? Had he spelled his own name wrong or something?

"Huh. I wouldn't reckon that's a very common name," Burt said, tapping the pen against the clipboard.

Blaine furrowed his brow. "Excuse me? I'm not sure what you're getting at."

Burt chuckled. "I'm sorry. You wouldn't happen to be the Blaine my son hasn't shut up about all week - the ice cream kid?"

"Kurt? You're Kurt's dad?" Blaine said slowly.

"Yep."

"Burt Hummel," Blaine said, and then it clicked. He couldn't believe he hadn't made the connection before, and he felt like an idiot. Of course, this establishment was called Hummel Tires & Lube. He could check that off as the second strange coincidence of the day, and it wasn't even noon yet.

"That'd be me," he said, offering his hand to shake. Blaine shook it firmly and let go. "Didn't think you'd be meeting the parent so soon, didja."

"No, Sir, not at all," Blaine admitted, slightly bashful.

Burt laughed again, making Blaine feel even more self-conscious. "'Sir'? I like you, Blaine." Burt reached out and briefly patted Blaine's shoulder. "Like I said, your car should be ready in an hour or two. Feel free to hang around or do whatever you wanna do in the meantime, and I'll give you a call - or a holler - when it's done." Blaine nodded, and then Burt paused again. "Tell ya what: I won't charge ya for the alignment. I'll take care of that myself."

"Alright, thank you so much, Burt," Blaine said, and he reached out to shake Burt's hand again, grateful for his generosity.

Burt eyed Blaine curiously, not unlike Kurt had done before. Blaine hadn't seen much of the resemblance until that point, and then it was almost uncanny. It was as if Burt was calculating something, and then he grinned. But, at the flip of a switch, his expression turned serious. "You be good to Kurt. He's a great kid. Don't break his heart, okay?" he said, his voice lower and softer than before.

Blaine was taken aback. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Blaine wanted to assure him that he had nothing to worry about, that he was afraid that Kurt would break his heart first, that they had only just met, but Blaine already felt like letting go wasn't an option, was something that hadn't even crossed his mind.

But as he stood there staring back at a father who clearly held all the love in the world for his son, he had no words for Mr. Hummel. Blaine had never been rendered speechless before, not that he could remember. He had no words, but he felt a fondness and sense of respect for the man arising within him.

So he swallowed hard. And he nodded.

Blaine finally turned away to leave the shop, doubled back for a second, raising his hand as if he was about to speak, but then let it fall again. Then he opened the door and left the shop.


End file.
